IG: U.S. wasting cash in Iraq

As the U.S. prepares to withdraw its military from Iraq, only 12 percent of the funds in a State Department program to train police there will be used for that purpose, a government watchdog group reports, warning the program could become a “bottomless pit” for American taxpayers.

The “vast preponderance” of the $500 million program will instead be going to things such as security and “life support” for trainers, according to the report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Only 12 percent will go toward “advising, mentoring and developing the Iraqi police forces” the report said.

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In fact, the Iraqi government may not even want the program. The Iraqi government has not yet signed off on the program, and the official in charge of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s day-to-day operations appeared to be less than keen on its merits.

“What tangible benefit will Iraqis see from this police training program? With most of the money spent on lodging, security, support, all the MOI gets is a little expertise, and that is if the program materializes. It has yet to start,” Ministry of Interior official Adnan al-Asadi said to the AP.

On Oct. 1, the State Department took over the responsibility of training Iraqi police from the Defense Department, but has yet to start the process of doing so. The report notes that the State Department has not yet secured a written agreement with the government of Iraq to start the program.

The report also blasted the program as unfocused and potentially wasteful.

“Without specific goals, objectives and performance measures, the PDP (Police Development Program) could become a ‘bottomless pit’ for U.S. dollars intended for mentoring, advising and training the Iraqi police forces,” the report says.

In 2009, the vision of the Iraqi training program was that it would cost $721 million to pay for 350 police advisers. This increased to $1.18 billion for 190 advisers in a 2010 plan.

By July of this year, the plan had been pared down and the number of advisers dropped to 115 for what the State Department said was “Phase 1” of the program, estimating that the total FY 2012 cost would be about $500 million.

The AP reports that, in a letter to the Special Inspector General, State Department Assistant Secretary William Brownfield wrote that the Iraqi government was committed to the program, and that the State Department hoped to reduce costs in the coming years.

Since 2003, America has spent about $8 billion to train, staff, and equip Iraqi police forces.